I get to visit a horse trainer at a racetrack!

[sallyandsnowx]

As some of you may know, I'm going to college next year to study equine science and management since I want to be an equine vet when I get older. My aunts new husband owns horses at the Philadelphia race track. He use to race three horses, but now he's only down to one. The other two are living the life relaxing on his family farm down in Florida, lucky them. Anyway! I was talking to him about college and he asked if I would like to talk to his trainer and visit the track. I told him that would be great!

My aunt called me last night saying he talked to the trainer and she would love to show me around and give me tips & advice for the future. She comes back from Virginia the beginning of May, so sometime next month is when I'll get to meet her. She also said she'll find a time for the vet to come in and I can spend a day with him as well. Woo!

I'm SUPER excited!

[Karen]

That should be a very interesting opportunity! Start writing down questions to ask now, as they occur to you!

[Miss Z]

How exciting! This will be a great experience for you as a future equine vet. Racehorse trainers have to be incredibly knowledgeable about the way horses are built anatomically, and how they move, in order to select the best racers. I'm sure you'll learn loads - wish I was coming with you! Do let us know how it goes.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Oh, this sounds like a dream . Take lots of pictures if they'll let you and share all the details with us! Being an equine science major is probably a lot like what I'm doing.

[phesina]

That is fabulous! What a marvelous opportunity!

[sallyandsnowx]

Oh, this sounds like a dream . Take lots of pictures if they'll let you and share all the details with us! Being an equine science major is probably a lot like what I'm doing.

What is it that you do?

I'll deffinately tell you guys how it all goes. Hopefully I can find my camera before I go. If not, I'm sure my phone camera will do a decent job. The only problem is I'm horrible at questions. I'm starting to write down a couple like vet school recommendations, what could help me get into the career field, and such like that. I always think of great questions afterwards lol. At least I'll have about a month to think.

[Roxyluvsme13]

I'm an Animal Science major, pretty much the same as Equine except not so specialized. We deal with livestock though! Cows, sheep, horses, pigs!

[Miss Z]

The only problem is I'm horrible at questions. I'm starting to write down a couple like vet school recommendations, what could help me get into the career field, and such like that. I always think of great questions afterwards lol. At least I'll have about a month to think.

If I could offer a little humble advice, from one potential vet to another... question everything. Everything you see, do, and are told, and don't ever be afraid of it sounding silly. Yep, it's essential to know stuff about vet schools and how to get into them. However, everyone tries to find the answers to those questions. I know it's a bit different becoming a vet in the States compared to here - do you have an interview for pre-vet/vetmed? If you do, you want to impress them with not only what you've seen and been prepared for, but what you've learned.

It doesn't have to be scary or complex, or like undertaking a research project before you've even got in to vet school. It can be the simplest of things - like, say, how horses move. Why the thoroughbred can be a track racehorse, and why a clydesdale cannot. It all sounds really simple until you think about it, and ask why! What comformation is desirable in a racer? How do they maintain their animals in the peak of physical fitness? Anything you can think of - anyone working with animals will always love to spill all that they know, because it's a job where experience is golden and they want to pass theirs on. I'm sure a racehorse trainer would have a wealth of tips and tricks to share. Even questioning welfare is a great way to find out the strengths and weaknesses of a system (although one has to use a little tact - you won't make any friends by being overly critical!)

If I might use myself as an example - I talked my interviewers through the dissection of a piglet! It was nothing horrendously technical or something I'd revised. You apply to vet school to learn how to be a vet, not the other way around, so I didn't have anything much to do with anatomy, or clinical terms. I just simply outlined a scenario I had witnessed whilst working at a farm, in which a mystery infection had broken out amongst the piglets. I had seen the vet instigate an immediate antibiotic shot for all remaining piglets, and watched her carry out a post mortem and collect samples for the lab. All throughout, I was questioning why she was doing what she was doing, and this gave me the detail to 'bulk out' my explanation.

I was then asked why I had chosen to tell them about it. I hadn't really prepared for a question like that! I thought about it, and answered that I thought it was a good example of a vet acting as a problem solver, and not only that, but an effective one. She had tackled the immediate crisis with the shots, and then endeavoured to define the problem more clearly with the post mortem and tests. Now I can't be certain, but something about that moment makes me believe it was a pivotal point in my acceptance into vet school. As much as exam results and weeks of experience (and stress!) had got me to the interview, showing I could think and evaluate information got me through it.

You never know, a few questions you ask now might just influence your life path!